WAG Some news on Geddert himself - suspended

[Aussie_coach]

As far as being able to break the contract. How does it work in the US to transfer to another gym.

Here in Australia, you can't transfer to any other gym in Australia if you owe money at another gym.

All gymnastsbtraining in every gym must be registered on the national database, if a gymnasts wants to attend another gym (even if they haven't been to th previous gym in 10 years), the new gym must apply for a transfer and themlld gym can either approve or deny it. They can deny it if there are any outstanding g fees, so the family would need to pay all fees before the gymnast can attend the new gym.

 

[MILgymFAM]

As far as being able to break the contract. How does it work in the US to transfer to another gym.

Here in Australia, you can't transfer to any other gym in Australia if you owe money at another gym.

All gymnastsbtraining in every gym must be registered on the national database, if a gymnasts wants to attend another gym (even if they haven't been to th previous gym in 10 years), the new gym must apply for a transfer and themlld gym can either approve or deny it. They can deny it if there are any outstanding g fees, so the family would need to pay all fees before the gymnast can attend the new gym.

There isn’t anything official like that here. Sometimes a new gym will call up an old gym and discuss the move, out of courtesy mostly, but also occasionally curiosity or caution. I’ve broken a contract once. The gym could have taken me to court but I would’ve argued abuse. We were open with the new gym and they accepted our reasoning, believed us, and we moved on. We never heard from the old gym once.

 

[Gymmommy71]

How do you think it works when you're moving at L9 or L10, especially if you are not planning to relocate at least 500 miles away? Do you think these families had the option of just walking into another gym nearby and saying, "Oh, hi, I'm here and we'd like to start tomorrow! We're coming over from Twistars because we don't like the coaching style!"?

It's easy to condemn if you haven't walked in those shoes. Imagine saying to your 13 or 14 or 15 year old, who's been in gym for almost a decade and is close to achieving a dream of making it into college gym or elite, that she's done with gym. Because if you try to break that contract, I guarantee you that is on the table if you are not willing to move far away.

L9/L10’s switch gyms around me all the time. Other gyms are happy to take them if they have the skills to back up their level. There is one gym that many girls have up and left cause of mean coaches - they go to one or two other gyms and do fine.

This concept that a teenager with advanced skills will somehow get “blacklisted” for leaving a for profit gym is why abusers are able to thrive. It’s also why people don’t report these abusive coaches in the first place. That’s awful that some areas are so pro-gym owner that a good gymnast would be turned away from a new gym for leaving abuse at an old gym.

The sex abuse scandals in hollywood had a similar undertone - people affraid of speaking up because of fear of being blacklisted. It’s a shame, and sometimes I really wonder why we parents give these coaches/gym owners so much power over our kids.

I guess it’s easy to take advantage of people with a dream though. Especially a kid with a dream.

 

[Seeker]

Do you know the names of the other gyms that would not accept the Twistars gymnasts that wanted to move?

Yes, I do. In one case, I know that the issue/incident was raised to USAG but they did not offer any assistance whatsoever. Basically said too bad — we can’t interfere with how a private business operates.

 

[amiandjim]

Yes, I do. In one case, I know that the issue/incident was raised to USAG but they did not offer any assistance whatsoever. Basically said too bad — we can’t interfere with how a private business operates.

That is INSANE!!! We have 3 pretty high level gyms in our city, and you know what, girls switch at level 9-10. And sometimes, they even switch BACK!! And it’s ok!

 

[Gymmommy71]

Yes, I do. In one case, I know that the issue/incident was raised to USAG but they did not offer any assistance whatsoever. Basically said too bad — we can’t interfere with how a private business operates.

That’s absolutely repulsive of the USAG. That person who said that should be fired. I bet they have no problem “interfering” w/ private businesses if they forget to send in their membership fees!

 

[Seeker]

That’s absolutely repulsive of the USAG. That person who said that should be fired. I bet they have no problem “interfering” w/ private businesses if they forget to send in their membership fees!

I totally agree -- it's despicable. If they are truly committed to changing the culture, they need to take a long hard look in the mirror first. It is a truly ugly picture.

 

[GYM0M]

Yes, I do. In one case, I know that the issue/incident was raised to USAG but they did not offer any assistance whatsoever. Basically said too bad — we can’t interfere with how a private business operates.

I know of at least one gymnast that breached and Geddert sued them. She had an injury, decided she was done with the sport, missed it and returned to a different gym 3-4 months later and he sued. I’m not sure what the outcome was in the case. I want to say the gymnast ended up retiring and it was dropped, but I’m not certain. My DD met his son at a camp once. She liked him. Coaches said he was very eager to learn and seemed passionate.

 

[cftmoonlight]

So I just checked some meet results from yesterday and all of the Twistar kids and now competing under another gym name, Accel. Anybody have any info?

 

[SMH]

So I just checked some meet results from yesterday and all of the Twistar kids and now competing under another gym name, Accel. Anybody have any info?

That’s an interesting turn of events...

 

[cftmoonlight]

That’s an interesting turn of events...

Yeah right now they are all being accredited to Accel gym in California on mymeetscores, but we know how that site is. Could be a new name for an old program that just happens to be in the system, and the site doesn't know the difference. I doubt they all joined up with a CA gym.

 

[bogwoppit]

Very interesting.

 

[cftmoonlight]

Meet scores online still says twistars, so could be the site is goofy.

 

[coachmolly]

I know of at least one gymnast that breached and Geddert sued them. She had an injury, decided she was done with the sport, missed it and returned to a different gym 3-4 months later and he sued. I’m not sure what the outcome was in the case. I want to say the gymnast ended up retiring and it was dropped, but I’m not certain. My DD met his son at a camp once. She liked him. Coaches said he was very eager to learn and seemed passionate.

I feel bad for the son if he really is a good guy and decent coach and will be negatively impacted by all of this. I worked with a coach who was the most incredibly kind, caring, compassionate person and great coach but was the child of someone on the USAG banned list and that just always hung over them. Fortunately enough people knew their (sorry of the grammatical incorrectness, trying really hard to not give away a gender and the person) character and it was a relatively small, close knit gym community so employment was offered and this person has created a name in the community for the wonderful person they are over many years. But I can't imagine treading that road.

 

[Seeker]

Agree re: Brett. He is nothing like his father based on the limited interactions I’ve had/witnessed. But there is undoubtedly a black cloud effect based on John’s reputation.

 

[flippin out]

Agree re: Brett. He is nothing like his father based on the limited interactions I’ve had/witnessed. But there is undoubtedly a black cloud effect based on John’s reputation.

If you mean Brett Wargo, that is not his son. John and Kathryn's son goes by Blaize Geddert

 

[iluvgym]

Really? thought we lived in America ....

I also thought you cannot hold a minor to any type of contract? Right? Minors cannot legally sign a contract in the first place?

 

[LindyHopper]

I also thought you cannot hold a minor to any type of contract? Right? Minors cannot legally sign a contract in the first place?

Ah but the parents are representing the minor, and its the parents who signed the contract.

 

[iluvgym]

I still don't think it would hold up in court. I was told by a lawyer that all those non compete contracts that coaches sign, which says they won't work anywhere near said gym if they leave, aren't worth the paper they are written on, so I can't imagine a judge forcing a minor to remain at a location they deemed abusive. I could unfortunately be wrong, though.

 

[profmom]

What you all need to understand is that there are two ways of thinking about law. One is the law on the books, the rules and principles of legal interpretation that you can follow to get a legal answer to a legal question if you know enough about law. In that world, you look to the way contract law operates and what kinds of agreements tend to be upheld and struck down by courts, and a good lawyer can tell you the odds. So you may be thinking either sue the gym or go ahead and let the gym sue you; the law's on your side.

Law on the ground is law as it is experienced by everyday people who encounter the legal system. Most of us do so as very marginal and occasional players. The system is mysterious; we don't even know where to look for the right kind of lawyer to handle a dispute, much less what constitutes a dispute and how the disputing process works. On the ground, suing or being sued is a lengthy, expensive, confusing, and frustrating process. Because it is adversarial, the story that you and your lawyer tell yourselves about your case in which you are clearly advantaged will be contested sharply by the other side, which has the opportunity to build its own compelling narrative. In a dispute with a well established gym, you may be facing an adversary who has had previous experience and who can retain a lawyer who knows the ins and outs of this particular corner of the legal system very well. The experienced, knowledgeable lawyer will do things to encourage you to settle or walk away, including using the discovery process to increase your costs (including time), filing motions/claims that muddy the waters as far as blame is concerned, taking steps to lengthen the process if they think it will make you go away, or increasing or decreasing the stakes of the dispute to try to encourage the outcome they desire.

Maybe a particular agreement would hold up in court. Maybe it wouldn't. How much money and time and grief would you be willing to expend to find out?